Category Archives: Self Portraits

The past couple weeks, I’ve had a crush on Pink’s latest album (The Truth About Love). Check it out — you’ll love it. There’s one song called “How Come You’re Not Here?” that’s a favorite. A line asks the question, “Did you take a long walk off a short pier?” Every time I hear it, I sing really loud. Because it’s just too dam funny, and it makes me laugh. Maybe you have to hear it to really appreciate the awesomeness. In any case, while creating this latest post, I started singing that song to myself. A lack of posts in the self-portrait department sort of begs the question, “Did it take a long walk off a short pier?”

Um. No.

I’ve been working on it. I just haven’t posted much on the project in a while. And it occurred to me that I should start posting those!

Yesterday I did a quick session at my house for portraits. I wanted to see if it would be possible to take a good picture in the overgrown, weedy, unkempt bucket of rocks that I currently call my backyard. (I’ll get there one day to fix this mess; I swear.) Turns out, yes, you can take quite a lovely portrait there. And I daresay, the light in the evening is quite lovely. I took this picture when the sun was starting to tip in the ‘down’ direction. Not quite sunset because I had somewhere to go. But the light was yummy nonetheless.

Yesterday, I was talking with a friend. He’s several years older than me and is considering an early retirement (because who wouldn’t want that?!?). That conversation was a happy one. And then he told me about a personal situation that might force him to retire early, regardless of his plans. That part of the conversation, well, not so happy. He said, “I hope it doesn’t come to that. I don’t want to be forced to retire and not be able to enjoy my retirement.”

Then he said to me, “You just keep doing what you’re doing.”

Me: “Huh?”

Him: “I mean, all the stuff you do, all the traveling and hiking and stuff that makes you happy. Keep doing that. Because you’ve got it right. You never know what’s going to happen when it comes time to retire. People shouldn’t save all the fun stuff for later. I admire you. You’re bold and independent, and you go out and see the world and you do your own thing and don’t worry about what people think of it. Keep doing that.”

That part of the conversation made me smile. Because, honestly, I sometimes second-guess myself. I mean, yes, I put money into my retirement account. In addition to planning my travels and the next fun adventure, I do think about the distant future. But I get the impression from a lot of people they think spending money on travel the way that I do is somewhat frivolous. And I worry that no matter how much of my income I send to the 401K, it’s not going to be enough. And what then?

But then I have to ask myself. If that does happen, if my numbers don’t come out perfect when the good old age of 65 arrives, will I regret all that I’ve done? Will I wish I had stayed home more and saved that expendable income of mine? Truthfully? Probably not. Up to this point, I would say absolutely not. There isn’t one adventure I would take back, not one experience I would return.

I love my life. I love the fact that I have a separate savings account labeled, “Travel Fund.” And I LOVE that I use it just for that.

In the spirit of adventure, here’s one more self-portrait from a hike I did last weekend near Lake Mead. The hike is to Anniversary Narrows, a beautiful slot canyon in the midst of the desert. It’s unexpected and really quite wonderful to see. It also makes for beautiful backdrops when acting silly and modeling for the camera!

I went hiking up at Red Rock Canyon today. It’s one of my favorite hiking spots (because, seriously, whichever trail you pick, you can’t go wrong — all sorts of beauty up there). I knew I was due for another selfie (actually, two), so I brought along the tripod. And let me just tell you — the day was phenomenally perfect. Sometimes I’m amazed by how flawless the weather can be in Las Vegas in February (which doesn’t happen all the time, but when it does, it’s simply lovely). I set out to discover a new trail today and found myself scrambling in the Calico Basin area. There’s a chance I was on the Grand Staircase hike. There’s a chance I was just scrambling randomly up the side of a mountain. Either way, good times my friends. I do hope you’re enjoying the weekend too!

It’s that time again! I had a certain shot in mind when I created this one, and then I totally went off on a different angle. But then, that’s what happens with these creative projects. You imagine one thing, you start working, and suddenly you find yourself immersed in something else. That’s sort of the beauty of the whole thing if you ask me.

Enjoy your weekend, friends!

Self-Portrait No. 2

And seeing as how I started this project a week late, I’m throwing in an extra for good measure. Alas, numero tres.

When I decided to do a series of self-portraits for the new year, I didn’t realize how hard it would be to simply get started! I was super excited when I decided on this project (and still am), but, wow, I’m amazed by the amount of over-analyzing I’ve put into this. Do I look okay? Is the lighting good enough? Can I think of a creative pose? How am I supposed to ensure this thing turns out in focus?For that matter, how the hell am I supposed to frame the shot, when I’m not even looking through the viewfinder? The list goes on. And on. Finally, I realized I just need to start this thing if there’s any hope of actually finding answers to these questions — and learning something. So without further ado, here you go.

Heather Rae

Photographer. Traveler. Storyteller. On the adventure of a lifetime. I'm a fan of running in mud, long conversations in little cafes, climbing mountains, watching waves. What's In Search of Squid? Quite simply, my quest to have it all.

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